The Energy Tech Transition Has Begun: Neufin Is Building The Clean Power Network for Enterprises
Key Takeaways
- India’s clean energy transition has crossed a structural tipping point from generation capacity to market access, as Green Energy Open Access (100 kW eligibility), CERC market coupling, and energy trading dismantle legacy state distribution monopolies.
- India's 100,000 mid-market enterprises account for $25 billion (₹2.1 lakh crore) in annual power spend, with electricity representing 10% to 15% of operating costs, while clean energy adoption sits at just 10% due to rigid multi-decade power purchase agreements.
- 3one4 Capital is backing Neufin, co-founded by Rahool Gadkari and Rushil Naronha, to build a tech-led clean energy network that aggregates third-party renewable supply and delivers flexible structured contracts to lower energy costs by up to 40%.
When India constructed the digital public infrastructure for identity and payments a decade ago, it did not merely digitise financial transactions; it created the operating conditions for an entire generation of fintech software platforms. A parallel reordering is now unfolding across India’s power grid. As Green Energy Open Access rules guarantee 100 kW eligibility and power off-take decouples from state distribution monopolies, the core bottleneck in Indian clean energy has shifted from generation capacity to market access.
While large conglomerates command bespoke, multi-gigawatt power agreements, India’s 100,000 mid-market enterprises, representing $25 billion (₹2.1 lakh crore) in annual electricity spend, remain trapped in legacy distribution tariffs up to 2.1 times higher than their larger peers.
At 3one4 Capital, our investment in Neufin, co-founded by Rahool Gadkari and Rushil Naronha, rests on a singular conviction that bridging the mid-market energy gap requires a new technology platform: the tech-led clean energy network operator.
Building Beyond Solar Generation
Over the past decade, India’s renewable energy transition focused on utility-scale generation deployment. Driven by falling photovoltaic module costs, competitive reverse auctions, and strong sovereign policy support, India constructed over 140 GW of solar and wind capacity. India ranks among the fastest-growing clean energy markets globally, adding tens of gigawatts of new generation capacity annually.
Analyst data indicates India generates around 205 kWh of solar and wind per person at the same income level, while China managed 37 kWh. Solar has gone from 0.5% of India’s electricity to +9.5% in a decade. 𝗜𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱, 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮'𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝗳𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗹 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝟱𝟭%. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮'𝘀 𝗖𝗢𝗣𝟮𝟲 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝟱𝟬% 𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝗳𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟯𝟬 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲.
Building clean generation assets addresses one component of the national energy transition equation. Generating green power cheaply creates little industrial value if power remains trapped behind inefficient distribution and rigid regulatory barriers.
The Indian power sector is undergoing a structural transition from asset-heavy generation to software-routed market access. Historically, state electricity distribution companies operated as exclusive natural monopolies, controlling physical grid infrastructure and power supply billing. Commercial and industrial buyers purchased electricity directly from local utilities at marked-up tariffs designed to cross-subsidize agricultural and residential consumers. Legislative reforms, including Central Electricity Regulatory Commission market coupling and the Ministry of Power’s Green Energy Open Access Rules of 2022, fractured this monopoly model.
By lowering the eligibility threshold for open-access power procurement from 1 megawatt to 100 kilowatts, regulatory authorities opened grid access to small and medium enterprise buyers. Commercial facilities with a connected load of 100 kW or higher possess the legal right to procure renewable power directly from independent power producers. Power procurement has transformed from a static utility bill into an active market-access workflow, laying the groundwork for digital platforms to aggregate demand and route power across regional boundaries.
Market deregulation requires a functional distribution layer to drive adoption across distributed industrial clusters. In the physical power grid, electricity flows by physical laws rather than contractual pathways, so open access is an accounting and billing construct. When a business executes an open-access contract, the renewable energy producer injects green units into the state transmission grid, and the regional load dispatch center offsets those units against the consumer's monthly utility bill. State electricity regulatory commissions set distinct wheeling charges, cross-subsidy surcharges, additional surcharges, and banking allowances. Translating multi-state regulatory rules into transparent financial savings requires digital infrastructure that can model dynamic grid tariffs in real time.
The $25 Billion Mid-Market Tariff Penalty
Severe economic disconnects persist across India’s commercial and industrial sector despite progress in regulatory open access. India’s top 500 listed conglomerates have successfully navigated open access, sourcing over 21% of their total electricity from renewable suppliers through bespoke long-term power purchase agreements. Listed corporate buyers employ dedicated energy procurement teams, retain specialised legal counsel, and negotiate custom multi-megawatt contracts directly with utility-scale power producers.
India’s 100,000 mid-market enterprises, encompassing manufacturing plants, cold storage facilities, textile mills, auto-component units, and commercial real estate hubs, sit at 10% clean energy adoption. Middle-market enterprises operating across 287,000 facilities account for $25 billion (₹2.1 lakh crore) in annual electricity expenditure. Electricity costs represent 10% to 15% of total cost of goods sold for mid-market industrial units, directly impacting operational profit margins.
Mid-market enterprises pay electricity tariffs ranging from ₹11 to ₹19 per kilowatt-hour to regional utilities, compared to ₹6 to ₹8.5 per kilowatt-hour paid by large conglomerates. State distribution utilities maintain elevated commercial tariffs to subsidise low-income residential connections and agricultural pump sets, imposing a structural penalty on mid-tier manufacturing. Independent power producers traditionally ignore mid-market buyers because individual site loads are too small to justify high customer acquisition costs, lengthy legal due diligence, and credit underwriting overheads.
Traditional renewable energy agreements require 15 to 25-year offtake commitments and minimum capacity thresholds of 1.5 megawatt-peak, requirements that middle-market businesses cannot accept. A mid-market factory owner cannot commit to a 25-year fixed power offtake agreement when product cycles, facility leases, and regional demand fluctuate over 3 to 5-year horizons. Traditional power developers lack the sales force and digital onboarding tools required to serve thousands of distributed 100 kW consumers. Middle-market enterprises require flexible, short-to-medium term power contracts with lower capacity commitments, creating a clear demand for aggregated retail solutions.
Neufin Operates as an Asset-Light Retailer for Distributed Power
Resolving the mid-market power penalty requires a specialised technology platform designed specifically for distributed enterprise procurement. When we first met co-founders Rahool Gadkari and Rushil Naronha, their deep understanding of power market mechanics and contract engineering aligned with our investment thesis on energy tech. Rahool and Rushil recognised that solving commercial energy adoption required building a tech-led clean energy network.
In telecommunications, virtual network operators purchase capacity in bulk from primary infrastructure owners, wrap that capacity in software billing engines, and deliver customised plans to underserved niche markets. Neufin applies a virtual retail architecture to commercial clean energy distribution, bridging the structural gap between independent generators and industrial consumers.
Neufin operates as an asset-light, tech-led clean energy retailer. The company aggregates clean power supply from third-party independent power producers across more than 15 states and delivers structured power contracts to mid-market enterprise buyers. Neufin owns no generation assets and assumes no long-term off-take liability, maintaining a neutral, software-driven position between power generators and corporate buyers. Creating a unified network unlocks pooled purchasing power for smaller industrial units that previously lacked market access.
Neufin's model operates a two-sided network flywheel. For renewable energy developers, Neufin acts as an automated demand aggregator, converting fragmented mid-market demand into bankable, credit-vetted off-take portfolios. For mid-market power consumers, Neufin functions as a single-window energy partner, curating vetted renewable generators, optimising multi-site power allocations, and managing regulatory filings. As more generators join Neufin's platform, supply choice expands and contract pricing improves, attracting additional enterprise buyers and accelerating network density across major industrial clusters.
Flexible Contracts Matched to Operating Horizons
Operational friction represents the primary barrier preventing mid-market businesses from accessing open-access power. Buying power outside a local utility requires evaluating multi-state wheeling charges, cross-subsidy surcharges, additional surcharges, banking restrictions, and complex state-specific regulatory orders across 28 distinct grid jurisdictions. A manufacturing business operating four plants across Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu faces three distinct regulatory regimes and tariff structures, making manual compliance expensive.
Neufin eliminates operational friction through software-driven regulatory mapping and automated utility bill audits. The platform parses historical load curves, tracks regulatory tariff orders across Indian states, and evaluates consumption patterns. Industrial customers upload utility bills onto the platform, allowing automated systems to project state-specific regulatory surcharges and map available supply options from Neufin's inventory.
Neufin replaces rigid long-form agreements with structured electricity contracts. Standardised agreements on the platform offer contract tenures running from 3 months to 25 years for any business with demand above 100 kW. Matching contract tenures to operating horizons enables mid-market industrial sites to procure green power without entering multi-decade locks. Software automation democratises power procurement for businesses that operate without dedicated legal and procurement departments.
Continuous energy management analytics support industrial facilities throughout the contract lifecycle. Industrial facilities operate dynamic production schedules, with power demand varying across shifts, seasons, and maintenance cycles. Neufin's platform monitors meter data, compares actual consumption against contracted renewable allocations, and recommends contract adjustments. Automated tracking prevents peak-penalty charges from state utilities while maximising each facility's share of green power.
Contract Aggregation Delivers Up to 40% Direct Power Savings across 15 States
Neufin's tech-led model delivers verifiable commercial traction across India's industrial centres. The company has contracted over 360 million units of clean energy across enterprise clients. Neufin aggregates a supply network with 80+ renewable options spanning more than 15 states.
The value proposition for mid-market customers remains direct and measurable. By switching from regional utility tariffs to Neufin’s structured renewable contracts, industrial clients reduce electricity costs by up to 40%. Matching contract tenures to customer planning horizons expands operating profit margins for mid-tier manufacturing facilities. Enterprise clients including Mahindra Group, Club Mahindra, Smartworks, and HiTech Group rely on Neufin to manage clean power procurement across multi-site operations.
Switching to clean energy offers mid-market industrial units strategic advantages beyond direct cost reduction. As global supply chains enforce scope 2 emissions tracking and carbon border adjustments, Indian component manufacturers and exporters face increasing pressure from international buyers to demonstrate decarbonised operations. Securing documented green power off-take through Neufin enables mid-market suppliers to fulfil international sustainability mandates without incurring capital expenditure on captive solar installations.
Market-Access Infrastructure Will Power India's Decadal Industrial Growth
India’s economic expansion toward a $10 trillion economy depends on increasing energy efficiency and lowering power costs across the manufacturing sector. As global supply chains realign around sustainability and carbon reporting, Indian mid-market exporters must decarbonise operational supply chains to remain globally competitive. High power tariffs cannot remain an accepted cost of doing business in India.
3one4 Capital is excited to back Rahool Gadkari, Rushil Naronha, and the entire Neufin team as they build the category-defining B2B clean energy network for India’s middle market. Neufin combines software innovation, market deregulation, and industrial productivity, which defines our energy tech investment strategy. By converting transition complexity into a software advantage, Neufin is ending the mid-market power penalty and powering the national champions that will drive India’s industrial future.
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